C-Store Battle

Captain's Blog Stardate 89090.55

For those of you who follow the STO forums, you probably know that there has always been a lot of controversy over the C-Store. If you don't follow it then I'm sure you have some opinion on it. I'll try to analyze all four sides to this argument. That's right, there are four groups of people arguing over this. There are 1) people who hate it, 2) people who don't mind it, 3) people who support it, and 4) Cryptic. I'll try to summarize each side's point of view and I do apologize if anyone gets insulted by anything I say because that is not my intention.
1) The people who hate it feel that everything in the C-Store should be available in the game and that the C-Store should not exist. There are different reasons for this. Some people just feel that since they are paying a monthly subscription that additional items should come along with it. There are also those who cannot afford to purchase additional C-Store items so they are upset that they cannot get what they want. They are also worried that the C-Store may eventually have game changing items (such as special weapons that aren't available in the game).
2) Those who don't mind the C-Store are really the ones who just want to have fun playing the game and don't care about the "material" things. Some of them may be prone to saying "if you don't like it don't buy from it" or "as long as it doesn't give anyone an advantage then who cares".
3) The ones who support it usually use the argument that it is a good source of revenue for Cryptic so that they can continue to create new things for us. They may also say that the C-Store items should be available through the game in some way, but should be difficult to get so Cryptic can still make some money from it.
4) Cryptic's stance on the C-Store is that it is a good source of revenue, and they do use that money to improve and create new things for the game. Thankfully, Dan Stahl agrees that everything in the C-Store should also be available through the game some way without having to pay additional money and without getting rid of the C-Store. A good example of this are the ships. Most of the ones in the C-Store can be purchased with emblems and are per character; however if you buy it on the C-Store then it is unlocked for all characters.
I think Cryptic has the best idea here. Keep the C-Store open but allow items to be obtained in the game. I support them completely on this because its a fair solution for everyone. After all Cryptic is a business and they do need to make money, but we are paying customers and we should get stuff for free (or at least with a little extra work in the game). So where do you stand in this War of the C-Store and why?

Written by Attilio on June 26, 2011 at 10:03 pm

Comments

Warburton1881(Guest) said...June 27, 2011 at 02:41 pm

Having said some nasty things about the C-Store in the past over an issue that would still irritate me if the problem hadn't somehow quietly gone away after I complained and Cryptic explained told me why things had to be the way they were, I now find myself more in Camp three than anywhere else.

I read somewhere that Cryptic has run millions of dollars of losses on the game over the last two years, obviously because the startup costs have outrun the available revenue. The C-Store is one way for tehm to recoup those losses over time, just as monthly fees do. If that revenue is not available to them, they will either have to generate it some other way, or the game will not last long. As a lifetime subscriber, I am very in favor of anything reasonable that helps the studio meke a living.

For the people who worry about C-Store customers getting an unfair advantage in the game, I can say from experience that the ships and other items available at the C-Store are not significantly different from the ones available in the game. Indeed, my Dreadnaught Cruiser is my least favorite of my big ships and things like pets and costume packs do not affect game play at all.

Although I seldon use it, I really like having the option of getting things like extra character/BOff/Ship slots, of having the option of trying out items like the Dreadnaught without having to wait until I've collected hundreds of emblems and of being able to dress up in fancy uniforms if the mood ever strikes me. In short, I may have some quibbles with a few of the things the C-Store does, but overall it is a good thing for the game to have.

Warburton, millions of dollars just on STO? Wow that's a lot. I find that hard to believe but I'm sure its possible.

I do agree with you that there should be a way to try a ship, or really any item for that matter, before buying it. Tribble is a good way to test out ships that will be released, but that's about it. They should have some sort of "flight simulator" or "test flight area" at Utopia Planetia so we could test a ship before buying it.